Journeys of Belonging in Nina McConigley’s “Cowboys and East Indians”
Fitting in is a challenge for many people of color, even if they grew up with supportive communities. Many people are still viewed as “exotic,” and find numerous cultural differences even where they grow up, or fear being viewed that way when moving away and seek to blend in. Nina McConigley’s short story collection Cowboys and East Indians takes readers to both Wyoming and India through struggles of people with a foot in two worlds, not fully belonging to either no matter how they try.
Faith grew up in Laramie and was adopted out of India when she was an infant by white parents in “Cowboys and East Indians.” She meets a group of girls studying from India, who she helps out of belief she can relate to them out of being Indian. She clings to the belief that she belongs and persists in helping and hanging out with the girls while learn Indian culture even though she’s accustomed to horses, barrel racing, and being lumped in with Native Americans. However, even her boyfriend “told [Faith she] was exotic, and that was what he liked” after telling her he “[doesn’t] see [Faith] as brown,” further stressing that she doesn’t fit in either way. Faith finds comfort in being an outsider, likening herself as a guard to a flock of sheep.
“Pomp and Circumstance” features Chitra, who recently moved to Laramie with her husband Rajah and eight year old son, and they regularly spend time with Richard and Nancy Larson. Chitra seldom leaves the house, and regularly misunderstands meanings of phrases, but finds that the Larsons are trying to find some solace in a piece of Indian culture: He likens himself to a hijra, a third gender recognized in India, but adds “it’s not like your country. People don’t consider it lucky.” Chitra gives Richard a sari like he asks and teaches him how to put it on. He offers her a dress and wig so she can feel American, which she decides isn’t necessary for her.
In “White Wedding,” Lucky makes wedding preparations for her sister Asha, who travels back to Wyoming for her wedding to a white man she met in New York City. Everyone wears stereotypical western costumes, except for Asha and her white bridesmaids, who wish to be dressed by Lucky in her mother’s saris, resembling a caricature of how half-Indian Lucky and Asha grew up. Asha has given up her roots and turned them into costumes while she pushes Lucky to do the same despite Lucky’s own wrestle to keep her roots.
People promote a sense of belonging to a specific group, which others struggle in grey areas of being part of many and none, with pressure that they don’t truly belong one way or another. The feeling disconcerts and even frightens with a multitude of dangers and no easy answers. As McConigley shows, most who don’t fit neatly into categories work their way through mountains to find and carve out their own sense of belonging.
